Brisbane, Nov 20:
An Australia in turmoil both on and off the field has made India the firm favourites in the compelling rivalry’s latest battle which begins with a T20 International series here tomorrow.
In a bid to assert themselves as favourites for the Test series, which starts December 6 in Adelaide, India would be hoping to dominate the three T20Is.
The touring side has won its previous seven T20I series dating back to November 2017, and its last defeat in the format was against West Indies in July last year.
Not to mention, on their last visit here, the Men in Blue won the T20I series 3-0. So, they will be riding high on a wave of confidence and eager to make an early mark on this trip.
Australian cricket, in contrast, has been dogged by structural reform in the wake of the ball-tampering saga in South Africa in March and it has resulted in turbulence on the field as well.
Only on Tuesday, Cricket Australia ruled out reducing the bans of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in reply to a plea submission from the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).
In the absence of Smith and Warner, Australia’s results have fallen off a cliff.
Teams:
India (Final 12): Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.
Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Match starts at: 1.20 pm IST. (PTI)
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